Australian Stock Report Market Wrap Up: Local market finish strongly

13 April 2016: SYDNEY - Local shares finished higher today on the back of strong leads from international markets overnight.

“We saw the local bulls driving the Aussie market higher today,” said Chris Conway, Head of Research at the Australian Stock Report.

The gains were widespread, with every sector closing in the green, according to Conway. Overnight, the price of oil rose along with other commodities including iron. The positive momentum filtered through to the local market and boosted most sectors.

The top end of town did the heavy lifting, with materials, energy and financials plays the best performers.

The big miners got bigger, with BHP Billiton (BHP) putting on more than 6%, whilst rival Rio Tinto (RIO) added 4.5% and Fortescue Metals (FMG) jumped nearly 8%.

Amongst the oilers, Santos (STO) was best in show, jumping 4.3%, whilst sector heavyweight Woodside (WPL) added 3%.

All of the big four banks added at least 2%, with Westpac (WBC) the best of the lot, tacking on 2.8%.

Big gainers on the day were WorleyParsons (WOR) and Beach Energy (BPT), which jumped 10.5% and 8.4% respectively to lead all comers.

On the day the ASX 200 surged 79 points (+1.6%) to settle at 5055.

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